TELT Newsletter December 2022

New starters in TELT

This month we have welcomed two new starters into the TELT team

Megan Jones and John Seamons are the newest members to join the TEL Team and have been with us since Monday, 28th November. They join Alysa, Annette, Danielle and Raqib in the Training and Support strand – offering support via the IT Helpdesk as well as organising and running induction and training sessions for students and staff across the University. 

Click here to find out more and welcome Meg and John to the team!

Mentimeter training

Following the successful training session for Mentimeter, our presentation and instant response app, earlier in the year, we are planning more sessions in the new year. Firstly, a repeat of the popular basic users session, and also the promised follow-up advanced session for existing users to gain a more in-depth understanding of all the features of our site-wide Enterprise licence. The sessions are scheduled for Tuesday Jan 17th 13:00h (basic) and Friday Jan 20th 14:00h (advanced). 

Please see the CPD booking site to register for either or both sessions.

Alternative Formats proving popular

As part of the rollout of Blackboard Ally – the tool in QMplus that checks if our content is accessible – we enabled Alternative Formats for students at the beginning of this academic year.

These alternative formats provide students with a range of conversion options, so that they can convert their learning material into more easily accessible media. Essentially meaning they can personalise their learning content depending on their study needs. 

You can find our more about these alternative formats, including what have been the most popular options so far, here.

Launching Soon, a University Technology Enhance Learning Community of Practice

The Technology Enhanced Learning Team (TELT) are launching a new University, Technology Enhanced, Community of Practice.  Our community will aim to bring together academics, research assistants, members of business support/professional units and students to share ideas, content, experiences, questions, and best practices with a focus on the use of technology in teaching, learning, and assessment to encourage University wide innovation.

You can read more about the COP and how you may be able to get involved here. 

Mile End Recording Booth

The Mile End Recording Booth has recently had a technology refresh, making it much easier to use and book. 

Please head over to the TELT website for details on how to book and access the booth.

Adding and opening the Mentimeter app in Zoom

Following useful feedback from our newsletter readers recently, we have updated this user guide. 

Thank you to all those who contributed to this. 

Zoom message for all Google Chrome Users

Please note that Zoom is upgrading its servers between now and January 2023. Zoom have advised users that they will need to log in manually the first time they open the browser and use the Google Chrome extension. 

Please raise a ticket with the QMUL Service Desk if you experience any problems.

How to broadcast a message to participants in Zoom breakout rooms

Did you know it’s now possible for a host to broadcast both voice and typed messages to participants in Zoom breakout rooms? 

This guide shows you how it’s done. You can try it out in any meeting you’ve set up, even without participants being present.  

Commonly Asked Questions

This month’s most commonly asked support questions from the TELT service desk. View these below or online here.

Question 1: How can I access the QMPlus archives?

To access the QMPlus 2020/21 archive sites and earlier we will now need to use Appsanywhere or a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for staff. For more information on these, please visit our page: Accessing the QMPlus Archives . To access the most recent archive (2021/22) this can be done without an additional tool or action.

*Please note, for students, archives are only accessible to you if you were enrolled in that particular year.

Question 2: My modules have disappeared from my dashboard. What do I do?

In the first instance, please check the filter at the top left of the ‘My modules’ tab to ensure they aren’t being hidden by a filter choice. If the filter is not causing this, please check SITS / MySIS to confirm the modules you should be enrolled on and then contact your school administration for enrolment queries directly.

Question 3: Why can’t I update the draft of my assignment?

This is due to the settings of the assignment entered by the course organizer. They can either be set to allow drafts which can be edited or only an immediate submission. If the assignment accepts drafts, you will notice a ‘Submit’ button, this is only to be used if you are ready for your work to be graded. It is best to be sure if the assignment allows drafts before uploading your work.

*Please note the configuration is specific to each single assignment. One course can have multiple assignments with different configuration settings.

Staff Development Courses 2023

We have a number of staff development opportunities coming up in the first half of 2023.

These courses include introductions to Blackboard Ally, Mentimeter, Teams and Zoom for teaching and many more of our TELT managed services.

Our full range of courses is available to view here and can be booked via the ESD course booking site.